WIS-kurz
/ˈwɪskɚz/
whiskers is pronounced WIS-kurz (/ˈwɪskɚz/). Whiskers are the long, tactile hairs growing on the face of many mammals, especially cats, used to sense their surroundings. The term can also refer to facial hair in humans in a humorous or informal way. It denotes delicate, hair-like protrusions, typically near the nose or cheeks, that assist in environmental awareness and spatial judgment.
Whiskers are the long, tactile hairs growing on the face of many mammals, especially cats, used to sense their surroundings. The term can also refer to facial hair in humans in a humorous or informal way. It denotes delicate, hair-like protrusions, typically near the nose or cheeks, that assist in environmental awareness and spatial judgment.
- You’ll hear mispronunciations mainly around the final -ers cluster and the second syllable vowel. Common issues include stressing the second syllable (whis-KERS) instead of WHIS-kers, turning /ɪ/ into a longer vowel, and mispronouncing the final /z/ as /s/ (or leaving it voiceless). To correct: practice WHIS-kers with a clear stress on WHIS, ensure the second syllable uses a quick, neutral /ə/ or /ɚ/ (depending on accent), and release a voiced /z/ smoothly. - 2-3 minute daily drills: minimal pairs with whisker/whiskers, risk of mispronouncing ending, and speed variations. - Use a slow practice first, then speed up while maintaining voicing and timing, and record yourself to hear differences.
"The cat twitched its whiskers as it watched the bird."
"She shaved the whiskers off the tomato plant to encourage growth."
"During a storm, his whiskers brushed his cheeks as the wind blew."
/ˈwɪs.kərz/ in US and UK; Australian English also uses /ˈwɪs.kəz/. The first syllable is stressed, with a short I as in win, then a schwa in the second syllable, and a voiced z at the end. Tip: keep the lips rounded slightly for the /w/ then relax into a quick /ɪ/ and /s/ cluster, ending with /kərz/. Audio reference: imagine the sound of “with” + “kuz” but with a z-sound.
Mistakes: (1) Misplacing stress on the second syllable (whisk-ers instead of WHIS-kers). (2) Final /z/ too voiceless or too harsh; end with a clear /z/ rather than /s/ or /ɹ/. (3) Attaching a long /ɜː/ in the second syllable in UK-like phrasing. Correction: emphasize /ˈwɪs/ then glide to /kərz/ with a voiced alveolar zet. Practice by saying WHIS-kurz in a gentle, clipped flow, not whisk-ers.
US: /ˈwɪs.kɚz/ with rhotic r, a quick /ɚ/ vowel in the second syllable. UK: /ˈwɪs.kəz/ less rhotic quality in some accents, final syllable closer to /əz/. AU: /ˈwɪs.kəz/ with more open /ɒ/ or centralized /ə/ and a later, flatter r. Across all, the first syllable remains stressed; the second syllable vowels shift slightly.
Because the word blends a closed syllable /ˈwɪs/ with a voiced alveolar fricative ending /z/ that can be devoiced in rapid speech, leading to /ˈwɪskə/ or /ˈwɪs.kɚ/. The /ɪ/ can be reduced in fast speech, and the /ər/ sequence in American English can be tricky for non-native speakers. Practicing the contrast between /z/ and devoiced /s/ helps maintain voicing.
Key nuance: the final -ers cluster is pronounced as /-ɚz/ or /-əz/ depending on accent; in US English, you hear a light rhotacized ending /-ɚz/, while in some UK variations it more like /-əz/. Beginner tip: keep the second syllable steady with a short schwa and a voiced /z/ at the end, not a hard /s/ or flat /z/ without a vowel.
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US: rhotic r, monophthongal second-syllable vowels, final /ɚ/ or /ər/ in many speakers. UK: non-rhotic or mildly rhotic depending on region; second syllable often /ə/ or /əz/; final /z/ retains voice but may be devoiced in some dialects. AU: tends toward a more centralized vowel in the second syllable; final /z/ pronounced as /z/ with less vowel duration. - IPA references: US /ˈwɪs.kɚz/; UK /ˈwɪs.kəz/; AU /ˈwɪs.kəz/. - Practical tips: keep lips rounded for /w/, move to relaxed neutral vowel for /ɪ/ or /ɪə/ depending on accent, ensure the /z/ is voiced. - Reduction: in rapid speech, schwa can be reduced; maintain voiced ending to avoid a hissy /s/.”,
Whiskers comes from the earlier sense of whisker meaning a long slender whisk or tuft. It derives from Old English whisk ‘a protruding part’ and -er as a noun-forming suffix. The modern mammalian usage emerged in the 16th-17th centuries as scholars began noting tactile facial hairs in animals, particularly cats. The plural form whiskers first appeared in print in the 18th century, aligning with other body-hair terms that describe aggregate hair groups. The word’s figurative use—humorously referring to someone’s mustache-like facial hair or the idea of “whisking” something away—developed in the 19th and 20th centuries with popular culture, but the primary semantic core remains the tactile facial hairs used for environmental sensing. First known use in English literature indicates a practical, animal-oriented sense, evolving gradually to general usage for humans in colloquial speech. The evolution reflects a shift from a literal zoological feature to a playful descriptor for facial hair and, by extension, a folkloric or affectionate term in social discourse.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "whiskers" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "whiskers"
-ers sounds
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